Where to sit to on a flight? The safest seat on an airplane...

In all these years of travelling, I have personally devised a strategy when it comes to choosing a seat - it was mobility over comfort (safety never crossed my mind).

Although the window seat is most popular, I prefer the aisle for the mobility it offers. I am restless and tend to stretch my legs more often, so I pick the aisle seat not wanting to disturb other passengers.

And I know for fact, the wing area is the strongest in a plane and offers the smoothest ride, hence I usually end up in an aisle seat in the middle of the plane.

But some time back Time Magazine had devoted a page to the topic of 'Where's The Safest Place to Sit on a Plane?' They took a look at a study of accidents since 1985 with both fatalities and survivors.

Survival rates in aisle seats in the middle of the cabin are 57% worse than in the safest seats.

Apparently, the back of the aircraft, is safer than the front.

This theory is also supported by several studies, including one featured on a Channel 4 documentary.

The producers of the documentary, 'The Crash', arranged for a Boeing 727 carrying cameras, sensors and crash test dummies with breakable 'bones' to be deliberately crashed into the Sonoran Desert in Mexico.

After hitting the ground, the front of the plane and the first 11 rows of seats – usually reserved for first-class, business-class or premium-economy passengers – were ripped off.

Experts concluded that none of the plane's first-class passengers would have survived, but 78 per cent of the other passengers would have, with the chance of survival increasing the closer they were sitting to the rear of the aircraft.
Well, travelling first class is not my thing anyway. And people flying Economy should be happy now.

To come to this conclusion, Time Magazine went through the Federal Aviation Administration’s CSRTG Aircraft Accident Database looking for accidents with both fatalities and survivors so they could determine where the lucky survivors were sitting.

Their research revealed that the middle seats in the rear third of the plane have the lowest fatality rate, i.e. 28% compared with 32% for a window or aisle seat.

In fact, middle seats in general are safer than aisle or window seats.

Which means that the least popular seats — middle seats — are also the safest.

Despite such research, airplane staff insist that one seat is as safe as another.

When Emirates 24|7 got in touch with a former flight attendant from one of the best carriers in the Gulf, she said, "As long as you are wearing a belt, one seat is as safe as another."

She then added, "I do remember being told (during training) that the rear, middle seat is safer than the rest."

Time Magazine also noted, that survival was frequently completely random —with survivors scattered irregularly around the plane.

A 2008 study by the University of Greenwich noted that other possibly safer spots on the plane are the two rows closest to the emergency exits. This could be because those seated there could exit the plane more quickly if they had to.

It is important to note that the FAA says there is no safest seat on the plane.

This is because when a crash happens, which, again, is rare, the chances of survival depend not on seat choice, but on the circumstances surrounding the crash. If the back of the plane takes the brunt of the impact, those rear middle seats will not protect you, and those in the front could fare better. Similarly, a nose-first crash could make things far worse for those in first class.

The FAA handbook goes on to point that one should pick a seat they find comfortable.

So the next time I fly, I’m going to ask for an aisle seat and stick to the middle of the plane.

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